Toys-to-Life
Toys-to-life is a video game feature using physical figurines or action figures to interact within the game for the Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android and Apple TV platforms. These toys use a near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), or image recognition data protocol to determine the individual figurine's proximity, and save a player's progress data to a storage medium located within that piece. It is one of the most lucrative branches of the video game industry, with the Skylanders franchise alone selling more than $3 billion worth over the course of four years. Toys-to-life games generally use a third-person camera view, and have in-game power-up figurines. Toys-to-life games generally have an accompanying portal device that is used to "transport" the figurine's character and associated player data into the game. The figurines can be transferred from each game in the franchise, possibly resetting with every different installment. The video game feature was discontinued on May 14, 2018. Products ''U.B. Funkeys'' (2007-2010) U.B. Funkeys (2007) was the first ever toys-to-life game of this genre. It was discontinued in 2010 and was worked on by Mattel, Arkadium, and Radica. It had multiple updates before it was discontinued. Almost every update had a portal, also referred to as a 'Hub', with the same mold but a different pattern. The Hubs were a special USB port to plug into your computer. The characters were the Funkeys, which each unlocked new in-game areas. ''Disney Infinity'' (2013-2016) Disney Infinity (2013) was a toys-to-life series based on Disney characters and franchises. Since the initial game's release in 2013, there have been three installments. Disney Infinity was the first game, focusing on classic Disney and Pixar characters. In 2014, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes was released as the second game, which focuseed on Marvel characters and properties. The third game, 2015's Disney Infinity 3.0, centered on the Star Wars franchise. All Disney Infinity figurines can interact with various games in the series. The line concluded in 2016, when Disney announced that production of the series had officially ceased, and that there would be no more future titles. ''Flowgo Adventures'' (2014-2018) Flowgo Adventures is a toys-to-life action platformer video game co-publisher by D3 Publisher and Flowgo Interactive for the mobile phone, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo 3DS platforms. The Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and Wii U versions were developed by Monkey Bar Games, while the Wii and Nintendo 3DS versions were developed by Torus Games. After the launch of Flowgo Adventures on December 23, 2014, every 30 of the new worlds in the series have been seen every year, through FlowgoVerse, making a total of 240 as of 2017. The game features more than 300 different Flowgo Babies of the franchise holder, in addition to the Flowgo Set of Teleporation, which allows the characters of the Flowgo brand to interact with contribution detection locations. On January 3, 2018, D3 Publisher officially announced that it will not produce additional new content for Flowgo Adventures, and Bandai Namco Entertainment decided to end the production of Flowgo Adventures. ''Disney Playmation'' (2015-2016) Disney Playmation was a longer range (~10m) networked interactive role-playing game with wearable toys that supported BLE communications with phone apps. The product was sold in collaboration with Hasbro. The single-product story line delivered was based on the Marvel Iron Man fictional universe. Other universes announced before the produced was terminated included Star Wars and Frozen. "Hero Plug And Play" (2015-2016) A Toys to Life Game made by Jakks Pacific. It is a console connected to a portal connected to plugs which you connect to your TV. You place the figures on the portal and it goes to your game. It was short lived, there were three themes released: DC Super Heroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers. ''Sick Bricks'' (2015) A game by Spin Master with Lego-compatible figurines and builds. The game takes place in a small town called Sick City, which is under fire by a villain named Omega Overlord. Various heroes fight against him, and his goons combining with each other to fight them off. There were various multi-packs and special blind bags containing the toys. While the game itself was free, the additional figures would cost money. There were only three waves of figures, all of which were released in 2015. Following the third wave's release, no additional information about the series was released, and it was assumed to be discontinued. The line was based on a 2015 cartoon series of the same name. ''Lego Dimensions'' (2015-2017) Lego Dimensions (2015) was a toys-to-life game that used physical Lego figures, featuring characters from various Warner Brothers franchises and other third-party intellectual properties such as Back to the Future and Sonic the Hedgehog. Players must physically assemble some figurines by unlocking the levels in-game, which shows them the building instructions on-screen. Almost all of the figurines, and the base portal, have to be built by the player. No sequels were released, with the base game supporting all available figures. On October 23, 2017, Warner Bros. officially announced that they would not be developing further content for Lego Dimensions.https://twitter.com/LEGODimensions/status/922504239368114176 ''The Puyo Puyo!! Quest Music Community: The Secret of the Classical Birth (2016-2018) The Puyo Puyo!! Quest Music Community: The Secret of the Classical Birth was a toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Bandai Namco Games in North America and Sega in Europe and Australia for the PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Xbox One. The Wii and Nintendo 3DS versions were in development, but were cancelled. Developed by Rebellion Developments, the game features over 100 action-adventure platforming worlds centered on a series of film scores including The Puyo Puyo!! Quest Music Community. The game is distributed by The Puyo Puyo Music Community of America. The series was disocntinued on May 14, 2018. References External links * Toys-to-life: what's coming next Category:User interface techniques Category:Video game gameplay Category:Video game accessories Category:Toys-to-life games Category:Sentient toys in fiction